The High Cost of PayPal / a perspective from Nairobi, Kenya

[weex]

The High Cost of Paypal by Samuel M for Bitcoins.co.ke

Not long ago I did some work for a small Internet company for which I was paid $10. Being on the low and in need of some cash, I decided to convert the PayPal funds to hard Kenyan shillings that I could spend on milk and bread in the neighborhood kiosk, rather than spend on some service online. In Kenya there are no official PayPal partners through which one can withdraw cash. What is available today are ‘hacks’ set up to fulfill the needs of the increasingly many Kenyans working online. These PayPal withdrawal companies operate on the edge, trying to go around the strict PayPal conditions, and when PayPal is successfully outmaneuvered one gets their cash. From the onset the withdrawal services don’t pretend to be official PayPal partners, some on their websites and others in private emails will tend to say “this is almost illegal but then you need your cash and we want to make some money, so we can work together but under these terms and conditions”. Recently one of these circulated a brief on how to ‘trick’ PayPal.

Read more at From: http://www.bitcoins.co.ke/forum/showthread.php?tid=17

[b!z]

inb4 accounts frozen, funds limited.

[blueadept]

Is it possible to go from Bitcoin to M-Pesa using BitcoinWireless.com?

[weex]

Is it possible to go from Bitcoin to M-Pesa using BitcoinWireless.com?

M-Pesa is Safaricom which has some relationship with Vodafone (maybe fully owned by them?) but as far as I know, there is no way to purchase M-Pesa with Bitcoin yet. Perhaps shuohoti at https://localbitcoins.com/location/kenya/nairobi/ would send m-pesa for you for Bitcoins though.

[Stephen Gornick]

Is it possible to go from Bitcoin to M-Pesa using BitcoinWireless.com?

Well, BitconWireless only ran their limited access trial for a short while so currently there aren't any methods to convert bitcoins to mobile airtime through them -- and the only competition (BTCBuy.info) serves U.S. mobile carriers only.

Seeing that M-Pesa has 60,000 agents in Kenya who load E-Float (airtime money) onto customer phones a network of potential trader/entrepreneurs already exists and could easily begin to add exchange service (to and from bitcoins) as an additional service (... though without Safaricom's blessing and/or knowledge).